Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has no intention to create exemptions on steel and aluminium tariffs and said that reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners will be imposed on April 2 alongside sectoral tariffs.
Reciprocal tariffs would mean that the Trump administration would impose tariff rates on imports into the US based a calculation incorporating tariff and non-tariff barriers its exports face in other countries.
Trump has repeatedly emphasised that he does not intend to spare any county from his trade actions. “April 2 is a liberating day for our country. We’re getting back some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing,” he said on Sunday.
“They charge us, and we charge them and then in addition to that on autos on steel on aluminium we are going to have additional tariffs,” the US president added.
The US has slapped a 20% tariff rate on China and a 25% levy on steel and aluminium. 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods have been suspended on March 6 following a one-month concession to automakers under the North American trade deal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that the suspension was announced after Trump spoke with the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, and asked them to move production lines to the US from Canada and Mexico.
